Taxi proprietor jailed nine years for kidnapping ex-partner and rape

A 43-year-old taxi proprietor who kidnapped his former partner and raped her over a two-day period has been sentenced to nine years imprisonment by the High Court in Labasa.

The man, a father of two, was convicted of breaching a Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) and rape.

He was sentenced by High Court Judge Justice Lee James Burney.

The court heard that the man had been in an intimate relationship with the complainant, a trainee teacher, which later ended, resulting in a DVRO being issued for her protection.

On the morning of April 22, in breach of the DVRO, the court heard that he approached the 25-year-old complainant as she was entering Labasa Sangam College and forced her into a taxi driven by his driver, who was the second accused.

The complainant was then driven against her will to the jetty at Buca Bay and later to Bay View Hotel in Savusavu, where the accused booked a room. The court heard that he raped her over the following two days.

The prosecution told the court that the DVRO breach was aggravated by the planning involved and the humiliation suffered by the complainant after she was forcibly taken from the school in front of several pupils.

The man was sentenced to nine years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of four years and 11 months.

Meanwhile, the second accused, a 32-year-old taxi driver, was convicted of one count of giving false information to a public servant.

Justice Burney told him he had wasted police time and resources, describing it as a serious matter warranting a custodial sentence.

He said maintaining law and order required a whole-of-society approach.

Justice Burney said those who attempted to impede police efforts to maintain order must be sent a strong message that they risked condign punishment.

The taxi driver was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.